1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an inkjet printer and a laser printer, in which objects can be placed on the top of the main body of the apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of preventing faulty operation or outputting faulty images due to erroneous operation of the operation unit thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in this type of image forming apparatus having an operation unit on the top surface of the apparatus, if sheets on which images have been formed or sheets for image forming are placed on the top surface of the apparatus, and if these sheets unintentionally touch the operation unit, the levers or the like of the operation unit can be operated without the user noticing it, which has the problem that the apparatus carries out an operation that is different from that which the user intended.
Technologies relating to the present invention are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H08-234622, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-279743, and Japanese Patent No. 3773246.